This year, trim your tree with a theme

Friday

If you’re the type who simply empties out your entire “collection” of ornaments every year, the idea of decorating your Christmas tree with a theme may sound impossible.

If you’re the type who simply empties out your entire “collection” of ornaments every year, the idea of decorating your Christmas tree with a theme may sound impossible.

Aimee Kuelling, on the other hand, grew up with a father who sold trees and a mother

Holiday Lights Contest coming Sunday

Be sure to check out Sunday’s Life&Style section and go.rrstar.com for information on how to get in on our annual Holiday Lights Contest. It all starts Sunday.

If you miss it, you can call the GO department at 815-987-1209, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays, or e-mail go@rrstar.com for the rules.

who collected angel ornaments.

“For many years, my tree theme was angels, and that was almost all that was on my tree — all white lights, lots of silver,” said Kuelling, special-events coordinator at Rockford Health System.

“After my son was born, I wanted something a little more fun and colorful. I bought globe lights in bright, fun, funky colors and a variety of sizes. It was a totally different look.”

You don’t have to be born into the whole tree decorating thing to work a theme, Kuelling said.

“You go about it the same way you go about decorating anything: Choose items you love,” she said. “It can be as simple as picking a favorite color or two. You also have to know what tone you want — elegant, simple, country, funky, modern, etc.”

Of course, you can always rely on an expert, such as the folks at Ambrose Christmas Store. Located at 6715 N. Second St. in Loves Park, the outlet offers more than 125 themed trees, from 1 foot to 12 feet tall, including Crystal, Reflections on a Nutcracker, Bakery, Retro, Rain Forest, Circus, Let’s Go Fishing, Victorian Splendor and Wedding, said George Lerret, decorator at Ambrose.

The new themes, according to Lerret, are both old-fashioned and melt-in-your-mouth contemporary.

“Some of the newest themes this year are vintage, reflecting the ’50s, with Christmas cards glittered and made into ornaments,” Lerret said. “Another new theme this year is chocolate-covered cherry, a mix of red and chocolate.”

If you are feeling inspired to develop your own theme, here are a few trends and tips to get your creative juices flowing:

Trends

Check out a dozen themes, including the Star-Spangled Tree, Sweet Treat and Glitz ’n Glam, in a Better Homes and Garden photo gallery, at bhg.com. Click on the Christmas tree icon, located on the home page.

Just like in clothing, the color purple is the choice this year for ornaments, garland and other tree decorations, as in the “twilight” selections in Martha Stewart’s collections.

For the foodie in you, Kmart’s Trim a Home collection includes miniature kitchen tools and other decorative edibles.

When it comes to floral arrangements, hot pink and cool, citrus green are among the hottest colors, according to Teleflora, the international flower delivery source.

Nostalgia is always in. Skip the trends and make some old-fashioned tree decorations, as suggested by Make-Stuff.com. Glue ribbons to pine cones for hanging, string popcorn, cut snowflakes from white paper and run an old train around the bottom of the tree.

Tips

Interior decorator Coral M. Nafie, author of “The About. Com Guide to Home Decorating,” offers these suggestions to make the most of whatever decorating approach you take:

Keep the tree fresh and green, checking and refilling water on fresh-cut trees frequently.

Put lights on first, then garlands, then ornaments.

Work from the inside out, arranging lights on the branches near the base of the tree.

Weave strings of lights along the branches “inside,” then move to the outer edges of the branches.

Don’t hang all your ornaments on the tips of the branches. Place ornaments and other decorations “inside” your tree to add depth and interest.

Arrange the “filler ornaments” evenly around the tree. This would include those basic solid-color balls that are easily found at discount stores.

Mix one-of-a-kind, collectible and other special ornaments between the basic ornaments. As your collection grows, put the special ornaments closer together.

Safety tips

Christmas trees: When choosing a real tree, select one that is fresh. It should be green. On pines and spruces, the needles should bend, not break, and be hard to pull off the branches; on firs, a needle pulled from a fresh tree will snap when bent.

Cut off about two inches of the trunk and put the tree in a sturdy, water-holding stand.

Keep the stand filled with water so the tree does not dry out quickly.

Stand your tree away from fireplaces, radiators and other heat sources. Make sure the tree does not block foot traffic or doorways.

If you use an artificial tree, choose one that has been tested and labeled as fire-resistant.